About This PhD Project

Project Description

The Ph.D. student project will apply state-of-art mass spectrometry technology to identify novel therapeutic targets for treating neurological illnesses and identify lipid blood biomarkers for diagnosing these conditions. The student will learn how to perform liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) techniques using several different types of LC equipment including nano-Easy LC, Agilent and Shimadzu HPLC coupled to either Thermo LTQ mass spectrometer, Thermo Orbitrap LTQ and Thermo Q-Exactive Oribrap. The data analysis component from these studies will include the use of Trace Finder, XCMS and other statistical analyses packages to identify and quantify lipids in blood. Further investigation into molecular pathways will also be explored using mouse models of these neurological illnesses. For these studies, a variety of techniques will be utilized, such as western blot analyses, flow-cytometry, immunohistochemistry based approaches, thin layer chromatography, liquid-liquid extractions and solid phase extractions.

Funding Notes

The students will be paid as research assistants and all fees associated with enrollment will be paid by the Roskamp Institute. Benefits will include health, dental, vision insurance and retirement plan (401K).

References

www.roskampinstitute.org

The Roskamp Institute, in partnership with the Open University in the UK, offers a 3-4 year doctoral degree in Neuroscience. The program involves no formal coursework; successful applicants will be hands-on at the laboratory bench throughout their entire thesis research, under the supervision and direction of Institute scientists. Consequently, successful applicants will be of the highest caliber, self-motivating and capable of identifying and undertaking the theoretical research necessary to complement their laboratory activities. There are currently two Ph.D. studentship openings.

Prospective candidate for admission to the Ph.D. program must have: For US students: a Master's degree in a biological sciences field or a Bachelor's degree plus either one year of post-graduate full-time laboratory research at the Roskamp Institute or two years of post-graduate full-time laboratory research with another institution and demonstrated productivity. For UK students: a Bachelor's degree of class 2.1 or higher in a biological sciences field. For students from other countries: equivalency to either UK or US student requirements as stated above. Experience in molecular biology, developing enzyme assays and in silico drug screening will be beneficial. Non-native English speakers should have a TOEFL score in the upper percentile with an emphasis on spoken and listening section from paper-based or web-based tests.

Apply using the application form from our website at http://www.roskampinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/OU_Application_Form_2017.pdf

Applicants for the program will be required to complete the application form and submit it to the Roskamp Institute Program Administrator who will screen it for eligibility. Eligible applications will be reviewed by the Roskamp Institute Research Degrees Coordinator and by the Roskamp Institute Admissions Committee. Competitive applications will be selected for an interview in person or by tele/video conference.

The Committee will identify successful applicants who will then be nominated for acceptance into the program. Nominations will be submitted to the Open University Life and Biomolecular Sciences Committee for consideration and approval.

Successful candidates will be registered with The Open University in the United Kingdom.